


Gaming Gone Wrong (Re-Written)

by marikia



Category: PewDiePie - Fandom, Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Smosh, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom, natewantstobattle, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Blood and Gore, Demonic Possession, Fan Game, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Horror, Near Death Experiences, Original Character(s), Platonic Relationships, Who Killed Markiplier references, corpse party references, minor magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-26 13:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12558628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marikia/pseuds/marikia
Summary: All they wanted was for them to test the game. Mark, Jack and Felix had done it before, and Ian, Anthony, Dan, Phil and Nate all were willing to do it. So why had everything gone all wrong?[Please tell me you haven't played the game][hello?!][...shit]This is a rewrite of my other fic of the same name. It's been updated with some new stuff and so plot actually makes sense. I also am trying to remove some of the OP-ness that the Oc has.





	1. The advent of a Mistake

It was around 10 at night Washington, DC. I had just finished setting up for Samhain and was getting ready for the opening blessing. Tonight was the night that the veil between this world, the world of the dead and other places was the thinnest, so I had to be careful.

My best friend Jazzy was in the other room, finishing up some last minute adjustments and art for our video game called **Cursed One**. Normally Jazzy and I would’ve waited until after Samhain to finish the game, but we had managed by some miracle to get several YouTube gamers to agree to beta test it, hence the rush. To be honest, I was amazed that these people paid us and this game any mind, but all of them seemed interested.

Anyway, we had Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Danandphilgames, Pewdiepie, Ian Hecox, Anthony Padilla, and Nathan Sharp all waiting for this game to arrive, so Jazzy was making sure everything was perfect.

Shaking my head, I cleared my head and sat down, opening a circle and starting the ritual. Now, I’m not going to explain the exact ritual, as it is a private one that I made just for myself for Samhain. However, since this is a Sabbat of reflection and remembrance – It’s the Wiccan equivalent to the Dead of the Dead – I spent time praying to the God and Goddess, as well as offering food to loved ones who had moved on. The entire ritual only lasted about thirty minutes, partially because I was in a bit of a rush.

Once finished I felt relaxed and stretched, absent-mindedly closing the circle. This is especially important on Samhain as without closing it spirits and energy can get through and attach to things it’s not supposed to. I had almost finished when an excited shout distracted me. Quickly I moved to the bedroom, leaving the ritualistic materials on the floor of the living room.

Making it to the bedroom, I peeked in. Jazzy was grinning ear to ear and waved me over. Her short black hair was tucked behind her ears, held by her tablet pen and she was furiously typing away.

“What’s up?” I settled next to her, peering at the screen.

“I’m done!”

“What? Show me!” I demanded, and Jazzy happily turned the screen so I could see it better. She had already pulled up a window with the game, and boy did it make me shiver.

The screen was an animation of a young male with light brown hair and eyes. For a few seconds, he just stood there, smiling. It then flashed to a shot of him all bloody and hollow-eyed, with the equally bloody Title sat above him. While that image showed a faint flash of the words “YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE THE CYCLE” would appear, just barely long enough to read the words.

“Shit, this is amazing, Jazzy.” I praised, hugging my friend tightly.

“Right?! All that’s left is to bug test it and we can send it off!” She hugged me back, then hunkered down over the computer, I did as well, ready to test this game so it was perfect. Neither of us got a lot of sleep that night.

I sat on my laptop around noon the next day, a copy of the game on my screen. Jazzy was curled up next me in bed asleep. We had bug tested the game for hours and she’d finally crashed. I was still up, writing emails and DMs to all of the YouTubers I had contacted about the game, with the game attached.  

With a sigh I went to close my laptop, glancing at Jazzy with a smile. My eyes went back to the screen and I bit my lip. Might as well play it, right? I didn’t do well with horror games, especially 2D pixelated horror, which is exactly what this was. Still, we had worked so hard, I should try it.

With another sigh, I reopened the game screen and clicked ‘New Game’ and waited for the screen to load up. This was such a bad idea… now I’m never going to sleep.

Finally, the screen loaded up and I was treated to a lovely view of the front of the abandoned building that served as the setting of the story. Ugh, ghosts and hauntings didn’t sit right with me, not when my own philosophy from Wicca is not to mess with shit like this.

Taking a deep breath, I pressed ‘New Game’.

I got a view of the opening scene before my vision blacked out and my body slumped over into unconsciousness.

In several other locations in the states and England, seven YouTubers unknowingly did the same, not realizing what is about to happen to them.


	2. Discovery of the Mistake

“elle… Danielle~”

I groaned slightly, curling tighter. Leave me alone, I just found a safe place to sleep! A chuckle echoed in my ear, sounding slightly confused. “What do you mean by that, Dani?”

Wait… What? Blearily I opened my eyes, blinked once, then shot up straight. I’m in my apartment, safe.

“Danie…whoa!” my friend got treated to a very extreme hug, me shaking badly. “What’s wrong? Nightmare?”

I didn’t reply at first, too busy trying to reassure myself that I was actually safe. It was still pretty bright out. How long had I been out? I stared at the wall, clinging to Jazzy until she tapped the side of my face.

“Dani!” I started and stared at her sheepishly,

“Sorry, I think it was a nightmare? I don’t know man, I was about to play the game then blacked out. Felt like the game pulled some horror movie cliché shit and I got sucked into the game.” Jazzy deadpanned at me, concern.

“That sounds bad, you sure you’re okay?” I shook my head.

“I’ll be fine… I’ll just message everyone not to play the game till I figure out what happened.”

Quickly, I pulled away from Jazzy and grabbed my phone. I blinked at the time. It was 3 pm. Jazzy didn’t say anything, only watched as I pulled up Twitter and quickly DM’d the YouTube Creators.

[@markiplier Hey, you haven’t opened the game file I sent you yet, have you?]

I repeated this twitter message to the other Creators and anxiously waited, Jazzy glancing over my shoulder.

“What did you see?”

“Nothing, I hope. I pray to the Goddess I get replies and it was just a nightmare on my part…” I murmur, watching with hawk eyes as I refreshed the feed every minute.

Ten minutes pass.

Then half an hour.

At the forty-five minute mark, I was beginning to worry a bit. They hadn’t been sucked in, right? Right?! I tried to rationalize it. They were just busy, or away from their phones. 

An hour passes, and on the hour mark, a ding startled me.

{direct message from @danisnotonfire}

[What the hell is going on?!] 

“Oh thank the goddess!” I breathed, releasing tension that had been building up in my body.

[There’s what I believe to be a glitch in the game that normal systems can’t find. I only found it after I played the game myself.]

[I’ve never heard of a glitch that makes the player PASS OUT! Phil won’t respond to me! What the fuck Danielle?!]

Jazzy frowned at the message and raised an eyebrow as I began to pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“I may have an idea what happened…I forgot to close my circle last night in my excitement.” Jazzy, who’s agnostic, still smacked me around the head for that.

“Dumbass, how many times have you talked about proper closing rituals?!”

“I know, I know! Dammit!” I turned back to Twitter and messaged Dan back.

[I can explain better via phone or Skype. DON’T SHUT DOWN THE GAME!]

I sent him my number and Skype, barely waiting a minute before I got a friend request on skype. Clicking on accept, I didn’t waste any time and Skype called him. Jazzy watched over my shoulder as the feed of Dan appeared on my screen.

He didn’t look too hot at the moment, with his hair everywhere, and his eyes and mouth twisted with frown lines.

“Okay, what the hell is going on? Did you hypnotize him or something through that damn game?” Jazzy flinched at the anger and panic in his voice, and I almost did, neither of us like that he seemed hated the game.

“No Dan, I didn’t. The game is fine, something latched onto it and corrupted the file. That’s what’s got Phil. I can fix it, but it’s not really possible remotely.” I muttered the last part, but apparently Dan heard me.

“Can you get to London then? You need to fix this.” I merely nodded at the thinly veiled demand.

“I’ll be leaving sometime tonight after I let my professors know I will be gone for a bit.” I sighed a bit and glanced at Jazzy’s worried face. “I’ve got six other Creators to save…”

“Wait, six? Who else got the game?!” Dan sat back from the screen, staring in horror as I replied heavily,

“Markiplier, Ian Hecox, Anthony Padilla, Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, and Nathan Sharp. However, four live here in the states, so they’ve probably been playing since I played around noon, or 4 pm for you. Neither Jack or Felix replied though, so I assume their also in the game.”

Dan didn’t say anything, just staring and stuttering slightly. Fear was the biggest emotion on his face, and I didn’t blame him. This shit was only supposed to happen in horror movies and fiction.

“Look, I’ll be in London in 8-10 hours, will you meet us?” I waited for him to gather himself and nod. “Okay, I’ll tweet you the time we are supposed to be landing. Whatever you do, don’t shut down the game, or we might not be able to pull him out.”

We talked for a few more moments, then I closed out of Skype and stood, shaking slightly.

Jazzy hadn’t spoken the entire time, just waiting for me to calm down.

“Jazzy…” I turned and leaned against her, breathing slowly before pulling my laptop into my lap and began the process of buying plane tickets and letting my teachers know I would be out of country for a week or two.

“You don’t mind coming with?” She shook her head, making me smile, “Thanks Jazz.” She shrugged,

“You aren’t leaving me in the states and gallivanting to London by yourself.” I laughed and relaxed. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.


	3. Prepping for Rescue

Seven and a half hours later, Jazzy and I landed in London Heathrow, tired and nervous. Without saying a word, we went and gathered our stuff before going through customs and out to the front of the airport.

“He’s picking us up, right?” murmured Jazzy, looking around quickly. I nodded, also looking around for Dan. We obviously had no way of knowing where their flat was, so we had to wait. He knew when we were supposed to land, now to find him.

“Danielle!” both of us looked in the direction of the yelling, Jazzy being the first to spot a slowly walking Dan coming towards us.

“Dan, over here!” she called out, grasping her bags and heading over, and I quickly followed her.

It didn’t take long for us to reach him, lunging our bags. He didn’t look too hot at the moment. Actually, he looked worse than when we talked on Skype.

“Any change?”

“No. He’s muttered and screamed a few times, but hasn’t woken up.” Dan sighed, taking one of my two bags and motioning us to follow him out. Seeing the man in front of me like this hurt a lot. I was the cause of this…

“Dan?” he didn’t look back at me, only humming to show that he had heard me.

“He’ll be okay, I promise.”

“I hope you’re right.”

The rest of our trip to Dan’s apartment was done mostly in silence, except when he explained to Jazzy and me how to get a ticket for the Underground. Goddess, I hate trains…

So while we rode, I distracted myself by messaging Marzia to check on Felix. I didn’t know the twitter of either Jacks or Nate’s girlfriend, or if Ian and Anthony had one, so all I could do was hope.

“Dani,” The quiet voice so close made me jump and whip my head up from my phone. Dan was staring at me like some strange creature, which was slightly disconcerting.

“Yes?”

“We are getting off at the next station.”

“Oh, Okay.” I agreed, looking away to Jazzy, who was ignoring the world with her headphones in. Or, I think she’s ignoring the world, who knows.

Dan and I fell back into an uncomfortable silence, so I distracted myself thinking of how I was going to pull Phil and the others out. It was gonna be a bitch to do, especially with Dan and his fear of supernatural things…

“This is our stop.” Again, he startled me. Quickly I grabbed Jazzy and followed him off the train into who knows where London. Apparently, the train ride had let him calm down some, because he smiled a little as he led us through the train station, joking,

“You’re gonna be the envy of all the fangirls; you’ll see where we live!” Jordan laughed, debunking my ‘ignoring the world’ theory,

“Better move then, or you’ll be invaded!” All three of us grinned and fell back into a more comfortable silence as we walked. There wasn’t much to talk about that wouldn’t bring up the current problem anyway.

I didn’t get any responses from Marzia, so I had no clue about how any of the others were, and after about a ten-minute walk, Dan paused in front of a flat complex and pulled out a key.

“This way.” Once inside the building, we walked up a flight of stairs, through the door to their actual apartment, then up two more flights to the office. Needless to say, Jazzy and I were panting slightly, but Dan was obviously fine.

The room was still dark, only illuminated by the dim glow of the game opening screen.

“Good, it’s still open…” I muttered, stepping into the room and pushing the desk chair out of the way. Phil was laying on the couch, so I didn’t have to worry about moving him luckily. Behind me, I heard Dan ask Jazzy something, but I just focused on setting up for what I need to do.

First, I set white, black, brown, pink, gray, and purple candles in a loose circle throughout the room. Once those were set, I put a small bowl of water, my athame, which is a ceremonial knife for cutting herbs and channeling, and a small bowl of herbs down. Finally, I put statuettes of Hermes and Kronos down. I’m a hellenistic Wiccan, hence Hermes and Kronos, or Travel and time/space.

“There. Hey Dan?” I turned around, only to stop and blink. Dan was staring at my set up in shock. “Dan…?”

“What the bloody hell are you doing?” He squeaked in shock, making me snort slightly.

“What does it look like? I’m setting up to go get Phil.” I pinned him with a glare. “You cannot honestly believe that he just went into a coma for no reason.” Dan went silent and just stared at me.

Sighing, I turned away and pulled out some bread and a bottle of OJ. It was all I could pick up at the airport that was remotely natural. Carefully I placed them in front of the two statues and prayed silently. After a moment, I turned back to Dan and motioned for him to come over to me. Reluctantly he did so.

“Alright, sit down in front of the bowl, and grab both of my hands.” I knelt down, lighting each candle before settling down next to Dan, who took both my hands.

“Good, Jazzy, shut the door, please? And make sure everyone is safe while we do this.” She nodded and settled on the couch next to Phil, absently playing with her phone. Ignoring this, I turned back to Dan.

“Now, close your eyes.” I waited till he did so.

“I’m going to start, okay? I want you to focus on getting to Phil.” I got a slow nod, though I could tell he was nervous, which makes sense. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and grounded myself quickly before welcoming the elements and gods to the circle, my voice falling into a rhythmic chant.

Once that was done, I began the spell and search.

Not even a minute passes before I feel myself falling and slowly pass out, still gripping tightly to Dan.


	4. Where are We?

The pain was the first thing I felt as I awoke from the ritual. My entire body ached, just as it had when I had first ended up here. Luckily I knew what to do and took a careful breath, slowly relaxing my muscles. My eyes stayed closed to limit my headache as much as possible. The pain didn’t completely vanish, but it dulled from a sharp stab to a dull throb in my head and chest.

A groan from my left caught my attention and I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head. Dan was curled into a ball, breath coming out in short breaths. Our hands were still locked together, the muscles had seized.

“Take a deep breath and relax your muscles,” I murmured, rolling onto my side and up onto my knees by Dan “The pain will abate in a moment.” For a second I thought he wouldn’t listen, but then he slowly uncurled. While he relaxed, I took in the world around us.

Even though this was a pixelated game, it sure as hell didn’t _look_ pixelated. It looked as if we were at some, albeit creepy, real-world location. I could hear the looping horror track that Jazzy and I had put in for the title screen, which was the only indication that the world is fake.

“Where the hell are we?” muttered Dan, drawing my attention to him. He had sat up and was looking around confusedly, rubbing his hand till the muscles relaxed enough to let go of mine. His lack of panic and just his general confusion was amusing and I chuckled a bit, earning a deadpan look from him.

“Sorry, sorry. We’re inside the game.” There was a moment where it didn’t compute, then Dan lit up like a metaphorical light bulb went off.

“Wait, what?! That’s impossible!” I shrugged and stood, waiting till he stood to continue.

“Magic ignores what most people think of as impossible.” I held up a hand to stall any words. “Our _souls_ are inside the game, not our literal bodies.” He spluttered for a moment before apparently deciding that it wasn’t worth contemplating. It took this as an indication to continue.

I waved a hand to my left, at a very large building with a chipped sign that read, “SCHO L HO SE 4”

“That’s the game right there. You have to survive the school building. Phil’s in there, probably with others scattered around, and possibly hurt.” Dan flinched, paling. I didn’t enjoy saying these things, but we really couldn’t afford Dan and his logical doubt right now.

“Look,” I whisper, gripping his hand again and gently tugging him towards the school. The poor man was scared, and my snapping hadn’t helped. “The sooner we get in there and find them, the sooner we get out and back to our lives.”

“R.right…” He took a moment and seemed to pull himself together, at least enough to walk without me dragging him, but I could still feel him trembling slightly.

Slowly the two of us approached the darkened doorway of the school. Nothing had stirred yet, which was putting us both on edge, even though I knew nothing would until we met the greeting ghost. I paused when we reached the door and tightened my grip on Dan, reassuring myself that he was still there.

“Ready?”

“Mhm… let’s save Phil.” Together we pushed the door open and stepped in. No more than three steps in and the damned door did the stereotypical slamming shut and locked behind us. Dan jumped and glanced back groaning,

“Fucking gre..”

“Dan, it doesn’t matter. our way out is a spell.” He paused and nodded, remembering the ritual. Something heard us though because a tired voice hissed,

“ _There’s no way out…_ ” Both of us just about jumped out of our skin, breaking our grip and spinning to face away from the door.

Standing in front of us was a child, probably no older than sixteen. He was pale, paler than Phil, and had dark red hair. The boy was glaring sadly at both of us with greyish eyes, hands resting loosely in his jean pockets. All in all, he seemed normal, except for two things.

  1. He was floating about two inches above the ground.
  2. There was a huge blood stain dripping from his neck down the front of his grey t-shirt.



“How…” Muttered Dan, paling even more than he had already become. Seriously, where the hell was all the blood going? I hadn’t felt anything when he bumped me earlier….

“He’s one of the ghosts here.” I explained to him, ignoring the boy, “His name’s Kenneth, or Ken for short.” Ken raised an eyebrow at me.

“How did you know?” I turned to him, ignoring the now gaping Dan.

“I helped design the game, plus…” I pulled out around pentacle charm that had been tucked under my shirt the whole time. Ken stared in shock before nodding slowly.

“That’s why the room feels safe… I guess that the gaping giant is with you as well?” I nodded slightly, grinning at the indignant noise from Dan.

“Excuse me!?” Heh, who knew that’s what would snap him out of his shock? Ken scoffed at him and went to say something, but I interrupted him.

“Ken, has anyone else come by?”

“Yeah, a couple of characters, why?” I bit my lip and glanced at Dan, who had once again gone silent.

“Did they look out of place?” Ken thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“Yeah, two of them spent about ten minutes freaking out and making really bad puns about ghosts and horror games. They ran off to the right. Another weird fohawk thing and muttered something about needing a box. He had a taller man with bluish-green hair who seemed a bit freaked with them and they went right. Greeny-blue’s right eye was oddly colored. Another started cursing me out in a different language, then went towards Lara’s stairs.”

Okay, that was five, though I was worried about that glowing eye… Shaking my head I urged Ken to keep going.

“Anyone else?” Ken thought again, tapping a silent rhythm on his leg.

“mm… there was one guy who came through… He had glasses on and looked a bit Asian.” Ken shuddered and shook his head. “There was something off about him though, like the shadow was already leaching off of him.”

“What…?” Shit, that was really bad. If shadow had already gotten one of the YouTuber’s, I’d have to purge them…

“There was one other, real pale dude with an odd sense of fashion. He also told me a couple really bad ghost puns before freaking and running towards Lara’s stairs.”

Ken motioned to a dimly lit corridor to our left, “I heard a scream earlier.” My body froze up at the mention of screams. Goddess, please let none of them have already gotten hurt…Dan made a strange noise, kinda like a gasp and yell, in the back of his throat.

“Danielle!”

“I know!” I spun towards the hall, breaking into a dead sprint. Hopefully, it had just been a scream of fear, not pain or worse, death.


	5. The first of Seven

In hindsight, running down that hall was probably not my best idea, as we ended up being plunged into the shadowy depths of the rotted corridors. I could hear Dan’s heavy breathing in my ear as we slowed. While not dark per say, it was certainly dim enough to stop my sprinting in favor of careful steps.

“Dani?” Dan muttered, glancing around carefully, “Do you know where we are?”

“Mhm… This is the main classroom wing of the school.” I explained, running a hand slowly over the age rotted walls. “If we’re lucky, we’ll find Phil without running into The Shadow…”A shudder ran down my spine at the very thought of that thrice-damned demon.

“The Shadow?” whispered Dan, pausing. I could feel him shaking and spastically gripping my hand like a lifeline. The poor man was in a perfect storm of his fears, and couldn’t escape. In fact, I was surprised he hadn’t broken down yet…

“It’s a demon that is trapped inside the school. The damn thing is both contained and lives off the residual energy that the ghosts here give off. In order to beat the game, you have to free all the Ghosts and destroy The Shadow.” I tugged at his hand slightly so we could get going.

“Okay… There are places to hide right?” demanded Dan, though his voice wavered and cracked a bit halfway through. I didn’t answer though, freezing in place and forcing him to stop, as I had just spotted the one thing we had to avoid.

Floating slowly down the hall ahead of us, facing away luckily, was something that seemed to suck in light. It had no defined shape, acting more like a giant cloud of gas or a half-filled balloon that had been heated up.

“Dani?” Thank the goddess that Dan had the sense to lean down and whisper it into my ear, so the thing didn’t hear him. Carefully I twisted my head till my lips almost rested on his cheek and murmured,

“Stay silent and when I turn back, slip into the door to our left.” As I spoke, I reached out and carefully shoved said door open. I felt him nod in agreement before turning back. 

There was a split second hesitation before he scurried through the door, pulling me along. As soon as I was in, Dan shut the door and leaned on it.

“What happened?”

“I saw The Shadow. It was going down the hallway in front of us.” Dan paled and sunk to the floor, realizing what that meant.

“How are we supposed to find Phil if that thing is there?” I just knelt in front of him and patted his knee.

“We’ll go out in a few minutes, it should be gone by then. It follows a set pattern, so once it’s gone we can go find Phil.” I promised.

“Or you could turn around.” I nearly jumped out of my skin at the scratchy voice. Dan’s head had snapped up from where he had laid it on his knees, staring in shock behind me.

Sitting on a rather wobbly looking chair was a dirty and bruised Phil. His normally pale skin was even paler than normal and speckled with dirt, slightly shiny from sweat, and marred by a few bloody cuts. Black hair hung limply around his face, too damp to hold it’s normal shape.

The man grinned at the two of us and got up, wincing slightly as he walked over, only to get tackled by a very relieved Dan. I didn’t even care that he had almost flattened me in his attempt to get to Phil.

“Where did you wake up?” The older male looked at me from over Dan’s shoulder, rubbing his back gently. Dan had buried his face into Phil’s neck, obviously too freaked from the last several hours so to give a damn about what it might look like.

“I woke up in the lobby of the building. The front door was locked, so I sat there and waited to see what would happen.” He shuddered slightly as he moved on, “I met a g.ghost, Ken I think he said his name was?”

“That’s his name. He’s the greeter and tutorial for the game.” Phil blinked at me, only just processing that I was the one speaking.

“We’re inside the game file? Wait, who are you?” I went to answer, but Dan beat me to it.

“She’s Danielle, the one who asked us to play the fucking game.” He straightened in Phil’s grip and turned to watch me stand up without completely breaking the embrace. I just nodded and grimaced, 

“Yeah, sorry about this. Something went happened between the game being finished and me sending the file.” Phil smiled weakly and waved my apology off.

“It’s fine, you can get us out of here, right?” I nodded and patted my hip, where a small bag rested.

“Yeah, I can. Since I know how the game works, I can hack it somewhat to give me things that will help. Plus we still need to find the other six.” Phil stared at me,

“Six? Who else got pulled into this hell hole?” I sighed at the question, crossing my arms and gripping them spastically. 

“Mark, Jack, Felix, Ian, Anthony, and Nate,” I paused when I saw their confusion about the last name and rolled my eyes. “NateWantsToBattle, he’s mainly a musician and singer.” Phil nodded, but still looked confused.

“Anyway, I have no clue what order they entered, only that they probably entered at the same time or right after the first time I entered.”

“Wait, first time?” Dan interrupted me, earning a glare from me.

“Yes, I was able to get in and out of the game. As I was saying, I don’t know the order they entered. They could be anywhere in this huge ass school. There are several classrooms that are open, plus multiple floors and holes. For all we know, they could be trapped somewhere.” I motioned to Phil.

“We got lucky that you didn’t run far and that The Shadow forced us to hide.” I sighed and glanced back at the door. I didn’t feel comfortable staying here much longer…

“We need to move, soon.”

“What!? Why?” I didn’t bother to ask who had yelped, as it didn’t really matter.

“Because the game is designed to prevent camping in all but one room on the second floor, the nurse’s office, which acts as a ‘save point’ of sorts. There are ‘quick saves’ in the form of Candles, but you have to go to the Safe room to restore health. We’re in a kind of ‘quick save’ right now.” I pointed to the lit candles in the corner of the room, throwing eerie light over the decimated classroom.

They nodded, just going with what I was saying, and moved closer to me. I glanced back at them, smiling weakly. 

“The room will heal you, Phil.” Said man smiled in relief, and we left the room cautiously. The stairs were at the other end of the hallway and down a side hall, so we were going to have to sprint for it.

I explained quickly to them, then counted down silently. Dan and Phil waited tensely for my signal.

“Now.” 

A slight pause, then we sprinted down the hallways, barely glancing around to make sure our feet didn’t end up in any holes. That would’ve fucked us over badly.

The staircase we took was Lara’s stairs on the left, but for some reason, she didn’t spawn. Good for us, as we were able to get to the second floor quickly and out in the hallway that led right to the safe room. I thanked the horned god and put on a burst of speed, painfully aware of the loud panting from Dan and Phil.

“Almost there!” I pointed towards a door, three rooms from us. The sight must have encouraged the two brits because they were suddenly even with me. 

A long minute later we ripped the door open, slipping into the slightly smoky room and slamming the door shut. We all breathed a sigh of relief as the pain from sprinting, or cuts in Phil’s case, faded in the mountain smelling smoke.

None of us could have known that our haste to heal and rest safely would nearly cost two people their lives.


	6. The second of Seven

A short rest was all any of us needed at the moment, so once the cuts and tiredness had passed, the three of us went back into the hallway. Dan was hanging onto Phil’s arm like a leech, but Phil was doing the same, so it wasn’t really a laughable thing.

“This way,” I whispered, waving for them to follow me slowly down the hallway right of the safe room. Somewhere this way was a bathroom and an item room that held a key we would need to get to the basement. 

It took almost ten minutes to walk to the end of the hall that probably should only take half that to traverse due to our slow pace and constant dodging into classrooms. Granted, we found bandages, a sharp bit of glass, and a key while we did this, so it wasn’t a horrible thing. By the time we reached the end though, my nerves were on end so the shadowy shape ahead made me jump.

“What?!” Dan hissed, gripping Phil tighter. I held up a hand to silence him and squinted a bit. the short hallway in front of us led to a parallel hall, and the door ahead was the boys' bathroom. Someone was standing by the door, apparently trying to get in, or perhaps block it?

Slowly the three of us approached the shadow, who didn’t notice and continued messing with the door, all of us poised to run. We were halfway there when the shadow turned a bit and the dim light was just enough for me to make out a few features. Glasses, black holes where the earlobe should be, dark anime’ish hair…

“Nate?” The call made the shadow turn fully, revealing them to us. The male was wearing a dark green shirt and black jacket and was holding what looked to be a small blade or wrench in his left hand. There was no doubt though, it was Nate, aka Nathan Sharp.

He grinned at us, a crooked thing with teeth showing and a slight glow around his eyes, before turning and heading down the hallway to the left of us. I hurried forward, Dan and Phil close behind, trying to catch up with him. We paused by the bathroom door, me panting, and inspected the handle. Apparently, he had been trying to block the door, but why?

I glance at Phil, who nodded and waved Dan and me out of the way. We did so, watching as Phil shouldered the door open, before stepping inside. A rancid smell hit all of us, making all of us gag and me nearly collapse but Dan caught me, and all of us covered our faces.

“ugh, no ones cleaned this in a while, have they?” muttered Phil, turning slightly green. I nodded my agreement and went to speak, only to be interrupted by the most horrible sound I had heard in my 20 short years. It was this horrible mix of screaming, crying, choking and retching, followed by the breathiest “help” I’d ever heard.

All three of us scrambled over the broken floor towards the sound, pausing at a stall door, unsure of what we would find. The sound of scrambling and choking pushed me to open the stall, only to choke back a scream and fall into Phil. Both brits gasped and Dan scrambled forward, while I could only stare in shock.

Staring at me with watering, bloodshot eyes, was Ian Hecox. A rope was wrapped around his neck, keeping suspended about an inch too far above the ground for him to stand on his toes. His hands were starting to bleed, still scrabbling at the noose. Saliva dripped from his gaping mouth, choking as he attempted to breathe.

Dan was trying to get him down, but it was only making him choke more. It was clear that he was beginning to panic more, as he and Ian stared at me helplessly. Fuck, what to do what to do?!

“ah… ah! Dan, get him on your shoulders!” I shouted desperately, hoping it would loosen the tension. We needed to get the rope to turn lax… 

He nodded and slipped between Ian's’ legs and slowly stood up. Thank the god and goddess for him being ridiculously tall, because when he straightened, the rope stopped choking Ian. I sighed in relief and relaxed against Phil, who was still holding me up.

“Okay… Here, I can cut him down with the glass. Dani, can you stand by yourself for a moment?” I nodded and Phil slipped around me, pulling out the glass shard, moving over to Dan and Ian. It took a minute of Phil sawing, and Dan supporting himself by bracing on the walls, but they got the rope cut. Then the two helped Ian get off Dan’s shoulders.

“Ian?” I moved closer to the gasping and crying man, hesitantly hugging him, relieved he was alive. He tensed for a second but then relaxed against me. Phil reached over us and undid the knot on the noose, tossing the section of rope away.

“Thank you, thank you…” he muttered, just hanging on for a moment. Dan placed a hand on his shoulder, only to be caught off guard when Ian latched onto him as well, muttering his thanks. 

“I’m just glad you’re alive. Come on, let's get back to the safe room.” I tugged on him, and slowly led him away from the bathroom, followed by Dan and Phil. We would worry about Nate later.

It took us less time to get back to the safe room because we were rushing, but luckily nothing got in our way. 

Once inside the safe room I checked over Ian’s neck and hands, both of which were bruised and slightly bloody, hoping there was no permanent damage. He winced under my soft touches but didn’t say anything, and the bruises were quickly fading in the incense-filled room.

“What.. is this stuff?” he asked hoarsely, waving the smoke out of his face. I smiled a bit, noticing Dan and Phil’s curious faces out of the corner of my eye.

“It’s sage, a purifying herb. It’s used by priests, priestesses, and normal people to purify places. In the game, injuries are caused by corrupted energy, so sage heals every ‘wound’.” I frowned slightly as I watched Ian’s neck heal.

“The thing is, the ‘character’ aka us, shouldn’t be able to be injured by anything but The Shadow or Ghosts…” I looked up, feeling sick. Phil seemed to realize what I was saying and had turned slightly green again. Dan and Ian looked confused though.

“What do you mean, Dani?” I gulped slightly.

“Ian, Nate was the one who did this to you, right?” He frowned, paling a bit from the reminder.

“Slightly Asian looking guy with gauges and glasses, right? Yeah, why?” Shit…

“Ian, he’s a YouTuber like you, Anthony, Dan, and Phil. He shouldn’t have been able to hurt you because he’s a ‘character’ meaning that…” Dan caught on and slumped back.

“He’s possessed by that Shadow thing.”

…Shit…


	7. The third of Seven

The revelation of a possessed and evil YouTuber on the loose was disconcerting. Dan was brooding in a corner, shocked andPhil was distracting himself by calming Dan. I sat next to Ian, thinking about how I could purge Nate within a game. 

It wasn’t going to be as simple as an exorcism in the real world. We were all just souls, energy with conscious thought. Exorcism works by separating ‘evil’ energy from ‘good’ energy and determines what is good energy by which energy has left the oldest signature on the body. If there isn't a body, I could accidentally banish Nates' energy instead of The Shadows.

“Anthony…” The almost broken whisper lifted me out of my worrying thoughts and diverted them onto Ian. He was up against the wall next to me, leaning slightly onto my body. While he had calmed some, he was still shaken for obvious reasons.

“Where was he, Ian?” I asked softly, shifting so I could wrap an arm around him. He would be the next that needed to be found. Ian let out a soft sigh.

“I last saw him on the third floor. He, Nate, and I were up there looking for somewhere safe to rest. We had found Nate being attacked by what looked like a giant black dog and helped him. After the thing… dissolved away, Nate joined us, but Anthony didn’t want him to. He didn’t trust him when he said there was a safe room on the second floor.” He paused, gulping.

I just listened, worried. If Nate had been with Anthony, then he knew where the other was.

“Anthony and I got into a fight, and he said he was going to stay in one of the choir room upstairs, so Nate and I left.” He buried his face in his hands. “I should have listened to him…” All I could do was hug him, thinking hard.

“…Dan, Phil. Stay with Ian, okay? I’m going to go get Anthony.” Dan nodded quickly, obviously glad he didn’t have to leave, but Phil looked at me with worry.

“What about you?” I just smiled as I pushed myself to my feet. 

“I’ll be fine, the game can’t hurt me, and I can hold my own in a fight.” To prove my point, I concentrated for a moment and pulled a knife out of thin air.

“See? I can just hack the game.” Ah, the joys of being the energy version of a creator. Phil stared for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

“Alright, good luck.” The other two echoed his words to me, filling me with a warm energy as I left the room.I could do this.

 

Less than a minute later, I was running up the stairs, cursing my cockiness. Behind me was a ghost, specifically Lara. She was one of the thirteen ghosts you’re supposed to free, but the downside is they tend to chase you and get you killed the same way they did. 

Lara was killed by being pushed down the stairs, so of course, she was going to make me run up the obviously rickety steps, though I don’t know why she was chasing me to the third floor when she fell down the steps to the _first floor._ Either way, I had already nearly bounced back down twice and didn’t want it to happen again, so I braced on the wall and ran full tilt up.

Thankfully the gaming programming kicked in, and she stopped chasing me once I got up the stairs. Running is not my strong point, so I ended up doubled over at the top, panting.

“Hey, you okay?”A large hand pressed into my back, rubbing in slow circles as I caught my breath. I recognized the voice, but couldn’t quite place it.

“y.yeah…” Note to self, go to the damn gym once this is over! I shouldn’t be so out of shape that my soul feels it!

“You sure? Sounds like ya ran all the way those stairs.”

“That’s cause I did.” The person chuckled, irking me. I knew that voice, who the fuck was it? Slowly I straightened up, shrugging the hand off my back as I did so, and looked around for the person who had been touching me.

“Hey.” Crap.

“Hi, Nate…” 

“How’d you know my name?” He asked, chuckling again when I deadpanned at him. “You’re a fan.” I rolled my eyes at him, too stressed to feel flustered.

“No, I am not a fan. Does it look like I blow air in peoples faces?” He just grinned at me, causing a shudder to run down my spine.

At first glance, he seemed completely normal. Nothing abnormal, until you took a close look at his face. Though it was hidden mostly behind his glasses, there was a faint glow around and in his eyes, and his pupils were blown wide. There was no way he could see, yet he was as sure as he would be in normal light.

“So, what’s your name?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. I huffed a bit, not wanting to give my name since he was possessed, but wasn’t going to be rude.

“Call me Dani, I’m one of the creators of the game.” I held out a hand to shake, barely keeping from yanking it back as soon as he touched me. I could feel the foul energy swirling just below his own ‘skin’. It felt like hot grease, swirling and popping, yet Nate showed no sign of noticing it.

Shit, he’s been possessed more than I thought. I smiled at him, holding back the urge to vomit, and coughed slightly.

“Do you mind helping me find someone?” Nate stiffened and for a split second I saw a dark smirk cross his face, but it was gone so fast I couldn’t be sure. 

“Of course, where to?” I motioned down the hallway, bracing myself, before heading in that direction. Nate fell into step with me, staying mostly silent, a hand bracing against my back. The gesture would have been comforting if it weren’t for the small fact that he was currently possessed by that damn demon.

We walked for about five minutes before I could make out the choir room door. It was at that moment I felt Nates’ hand tense and his nails dig into my back.

“So, you’re looking for Anthony?” There was a beat of silence before Nate drew his hand away. I had tensed when his nails dug into me, but relaxed when his hand left. 

Next moment, my instincts all but screamed at me to ‘MOVE!’ and that was the only reason I didn’t get a foot long knife poked through my heart. I pulled some matrix shit, and by that I mean I dove to the ground, rolling and popping up like a jack in the box.

“Well, well, you’re fast,” Shadow-Nate smirked at me. He was fingering the silvery blade with the care most gamers show brand new game discs, swaying slightly. His eyes were glowing golden yellow, pupil almost swallowing the whites of his eyes.

Shit shit shit shit… I had to disarm him somehow…

Shadow-Nate didn’t give me much time to think, charging at full speed with the knife in front of him, and I barely dodged a killing blow. He did clip me with the tip of the knife, slicing a shallow cut up the length of my upper arm and barely missing the artery.

Fuuuuuuuuuuu…

“Motherfucker!” Shadow blinked at me, confused. 

“Funny, I didn’t know ghosts could bleed. What a strange game… oh well!” I gaped at him, unable to process what he said. 

“Wha… who told you I was a ghost?!” He shrugged, coming at me again. Great, now I’ve got a possessed YouTuber that thought I was a ghost, a fucking ghost.

My distraction cost me, as I got yet another cut, this time on my chest. 

“Ow!” Shadow-Nate snickered at me, staring at me over the bloody blade. 

“You’re gonna become a re-dead ghost soon if you don’t fight back.” I flipped him off, moving out of the way and slashing at his arm, successfully cutting him.

“that was horrible and you know it.” Shadow-Nate shrugged again. 

“I’ve got your ability with puns.”

“Joy.” I deadpanned, scurrying away from his swinging blade, only to trip and fall. Fucking great. Shadow walked over to me, twirling the blade in between his fingers.

“Bye bye bitch.” I shut my eyes, scrabbling backward as best I could. Not the best choice, but I panicked. I could hear his steps getting closer as he was walking faster than I could scoot away. There was another sound, but I didn’t really acknowledge it as my mind was more fixated on the fact I was going to be killed.

I hit a wall and tensed, waiting for the blow, but it never came. Instead, I saw the shadow of something over me through my eyelids, heard the sound of a blade slicing flesh and something hitting the floor, and felt and smelt the coppery tang of blood. Hesitantly I peeked my eyes open.

Laying on the floor by my feet was Nate, seemingly passed out. Someone was standing with their back to me, breathing hard. I couldn’t tell yet who it was, but I could see blood dripping from a wound on their side. Slowly I reached up to touch them, earning a hiss and flinch, the person glancing back to look at me.

“Ow…” I knew that voice… 

My head snapped up to stare right into the eyes of the person I was sent to find, pain clouding them. He smiled slightly, arm curled around his chest and clutching at his side in an effort to stop the bleeding.

“Are you okay?” I nodded, and he sighed in relief, eyes hooding. “Good…” that was all the warning I got before he slumped down, falling back onto me. I wrapped my arms around him and pressed against his wound, trying to stem the bleeding.

“Anthony?! Hey!” No response… Oh goddess…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got a message if I'd be including Natemare in this. I looked it up and there isn't a lot of what I deem 'canon' lore on him - basically what the YouTuber themselves say. This doesn't mean I *won't* include him, but Natemare won't function the same as Anti and Dark will if I do.


	8. The Fourth for Seven

“Anthony?! Anthony!” I kept calling his name, even though I knew that he wouldn’t answer. It felt like forever, but was probably only a minute or two, before I finally stopped freaking out enough to actually do something.

With a bit of effort, I got Anthony off of me and laying on his back. My hand was still pressed tightly against his side, barely containing the urge to gag at the feeling of warm, sticky blood seeping through my fingers. I began to examine Anthony, biting my lip so hard I could taste copper.

Anthony was pale and breathing lightly, pained winces dancing through his body as I pressed my hand tighter. For a moment, my brain couldn’t remember how to treat such a wound. It’s not something you’re taught every day!

“Shit…” I had to check the actual wound, but that required removing my hand. Taking a deep breath, I pulled away and pulled his shirt up, barely containing the urge to vomit.

The knife had stabbed all the way through his side, ripping a hole the width of my palm in the pale flesh. Thankfully it seemed mostly superficial, only ripping muscle and fat instead of vital organs. That of course, didn’t stop blood from pooling out of the wound and onto his clothes, my hands, and the ground. 

Steeling myself, I focused on the game and got sage and some bandages. It wouldn’t be as clean as it could be, what with the dirty floor and my coated hands, but it would at least prevent him from bleeding out. Carefully I bandaged the wound, putting a sage leaf between each layer and praying to the goddess, then taped the bandage down.

Having done what I could for Anthony, I turned my attention to Nate. He was still out cold and uninjured from what I could see from my angle, but that didn’t mean shit. Slowly I inched around Anthony towards Nate, standing and arming myself with my knife, warily stepping forward.

There was no reaction to me moving closer so I relaxed a bit and knelt by his body.

He was a bit beat up, bleeding from the cut and a couple scratches along with a nasty bump from falling, but other than that he was okay. Once again I summoned a few bandages and covered the worst of the scratches. I also I summoned some rope and handcuffs to secure Nate, not wanting to risk mine or Anthony’s safety.

Satisfied with my job I went back to Anthony, grunting in exertion as I hauled him upright. I managed to balance him with his arms over my shoulders so I was basically dragging him, securing him with more rope. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was the best I could do.

Now, what to do about Nate? Maybe I could drag him…?

Turns out, didn’t matter, he woke up as I was turning to move towards him again. I tensed at once, still armed with the knife, but now very badly handicapped with Anthony on my back.

“Ugh… what hit me?” He groaned, attempting to sit up, wincing in pain and opening his eyes. Nate started when he wasn’t able to fully use his arms.

“What the hell? Why the fuck am I tied up?!” Nate looked around frantically, spotting me, 

“Uh, hey! can you help me?” He looked legitimately freaked, so I slowly approached him.

“Depends, you aren’t going to attack me again?”

“Um… no?” I couldn’t help the giggle that came out. He was too adorable when confused. Focus Dani!

“Alright. I’ll help you up, but I’m not untying you.” I raised a hand to stop him from protesting, and to keep Anthony in place.

“Your body attacked us earlier, so until I can get it back into your control, it’s gonna stay bound.” The confusion on his face only grew as I bent as much as I could and helped pull him up, not that I blamed him. 

The way I had just danced around his possession was confusing as shit, but it was the best I could do right now. Hell, I just wanted to wash the blood off my hands. Nate clearly shared a similar sentiment, looking reluctant to accept my bloody hand.

“Look, just, follow me and keep Anthony on my back until we get to the second floor, okay?” He nodded slowly and raised an eyebrow, looking at the ropes holding his arms in place.

“Ah, right…” I moved the ropes to keep him close, so he was only handcuffed with a rope around his waist. He nodded his thanks, sighing.

“You gonna explain what happened?” I stared him the eye, noticing that there was still a glow around his eyes but his pupils were back to normal. Hm…

“Once we are where we need to go.”

 

The walk down the stairs was not something I wanted to repeat at all. Between keeping Anthony on my back, which is hard as I am shorter than him, and keeping an eye on Nate, I was ready to collapse.

“Almost… there” I muttered, limping along the hallway towards the safe room. At this point, I just wanted Anthony safe and Nate near so I could purge and heal his damn soul. My head drooped slightly with weariness, and once again I felt a what should be comforting hand on my shoulder, Nate, but I was too painfully aware that he was still possessed…

“Dani!” My head snapped up to stare at the strange picture of Dan, of all people, running towards the three of us. Nate’s hand tightened on my shoulder, and that was all it took for me to yell out a warning, stopping Dan in his tracks.

The four, well three, of us stood in a strange standstill as I gauged the danger level to Dan, Anthony and myself. 

“Nate.”

“Yeah?"

“Step back three steps.” I heard a shuffle, so I assumed he had stepped back. Good… Next, I nodded to Dan to come forward. The brit did so, carefully untying and taking Anthony, before backing off to the safe room door. Luckily it was only a half-dozen or so feet away.

I sighed and tugged lightly at the rope I held in my hand, turning a bit.

“Nate?” He was standing there silently, twitching a bit, which unnerved me. I didn’t move closer to him though, instead, I started walking, forcing him to follow me. Strangely, the closer we got to the door, the more agitated he got. Did the protective radius work THAT well? I disregarded it and pulled him closer to the door, which by this point I had reached.

I got him almost to the door when he snapped, yanking back against me, nearly pulling me off my feet. My yelp caught everyone's attention though, as the door swung open and Dan and Phil were there. 

It took them a second to understand what was going on, but a split second after, both of them were grasping the rope and hauling Nate inside the door. It took a minute, but the three of us were rewarded for our efforts with the full weight of Nate flying into us and the room. 

Ian was by the door and slammed it shut, before going back to Anthony, pulling his body out of our way.

I panted slightly, managing to wiggle away from the pile, watching as Dan and Phil disentangled themselves from Nate and watched him warily, noting that he was tied up. I frowned sadly, not at all liking this.

His eyes were vacillating between dilating and becoming pinpricks, and a terrifying scream echoed through the room. It sounded like a mixture of pure terror and nails on a chalkboard. That could not be good for his chords…

The three, relatively, sane people in the room looked at me with pained and confused looks, covering their ears. I was doing the same but had to come up with something. One thing I did know was,

“The sage will purify him!”They nodded after a few seconds, having to decipher what I had mouthed. Phil got very sick of the screaming and grabbed a piece of ripped cloth, balling it up and shoving it in Nates’ mouth.

“Finally!” groaned Ian, slumping back into the wall, absently petting Anthonys’ hair for lack of things to do. “Now what?”

I stared at the unconscious form of Anthony and the pained, crying form of Nate. I checked to make sure that Anthony was breathing, then went to Nate. The man stared at me with pained, terrified and half glazed eyes, hurting my heart. It was very clear that Nate wasn't coherent anymore, at least not enough to register what was going on.

Slowly, I closed my eyes and turned away from the two.

“Now, we pray that the god and goddess will heal them, and we wait.”


End file.
